Backhoe type excavation devices have been known for many years. It is also known to provide such backhoes for connection to small vehicles such as farm tractors, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,495,727, issued in 1970. In recent years smaller vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATV), have also been provided with all sorts of attachments and very recently with smaller backhoe structures. However, there are several disadvantages of these backhoe structures when secured to all-terrain vehicles as these backhoe structures are often too heavy and difficult to transport by a lightweight all-terrain vehicle. Also, some of these may not provide adequate security and may cause the vehicle to flip over during transport, causing injuries. A still further disadvantage of these backhoe structures is their ability to pivot along an adequate arc without having to constantly displace the small vehicle, which is time-consuming. A further disadvantage is the construction of the connection linkage to secure such backhoe devices to small all-terrain vehicles. These have been found to be time-consuming to connect and disconnect using bulky ad heavy connecting structures. Also, the working implement secured to the dipper stick of the boom is time-consuming to connect and disconnect.
Another disadvantage of attaching a small backhoe to an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) is that these vehicles have independent wheel suspensions and when transporting the load of the backhoe, the pair of wheels or one wheel of a pair of wheels can collapse under the weight of the backhoe structure and this makes it hazardous to an operator person and also can cause damage to the all-terrain vehicle. There is therefore a need to provide a backhoe for all-terrain vehicles and which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.